The present invention relates to augmented reality systems in general and to those used for police, and fire training in particular.
With the advent of better graphic displays and faster computers, virtual reality and augmented reality have become an area of intense research with the expectation that substantial benefits can be derived from the ability to simulate or augment reality with computer-generated visual graphics. One such system is known as Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) in which a large theater is situated within a larger room where the walls of the room or “cave” are made of rear projection screens and the floor is a down projection screen. A user of the virtual environment wears special glasses to see 3-D graphics on the walls and floor of the cave. Various software packages have been developed that make proprietary 3-D software or existing 3-D OpenGL applications interface with the CAVE environment.
Virtual reality systems have been adopted for use in training, for flight simulators, hazardous duty simulations, medic training, and vehicle simulation. The advantages of virtual reality for high-risk service providers is that interactive scenarios can be experienced without any personal danger and at lower cost than other types of simulation. Virtual reality training is conducted in which personnel are given virtual reality glasses using headmounted displays (HMD) which are worn to create a three-dimensional visual illusion of seeing a particular place or field of action which can be simultaneously viewed by a group of participants.
Augmented reality may consist of projecting additional information on a real world scene by combining computer-generated graphics with what a person perceives by eye. An example of this is Google Glass, which is a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display (OHMD) developed by Google. Google Glass communicates by Bluetooth with a smartphone to display information or take movies or pictures which are seen as semitransparent images projected in front of the wearer.
More typically augmented reality is live, direct or indirect, viewing of a physical real scene which is supplemented, diminished or mediated by computer-generated graphics or other sensory input. The information may relate to the reality perceived or may be more generally informational such as the time, the location, the weather, or any other information generally accessible by the Web.
Mixed reality (MR) was defined in 1994 by Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino as “ . . . Anywhere between the extrema of the virtual reality continuum” where the continuum extends from the completely real to the completely virtual environment, with augmented reality and augmented virtual reality on the continuum between the extrema.
One example of mixed reality is a mobile simulator which allows visitors to the mobile simulator to experience a popular computer game in a life-sized networked environment. Inside the mobile simulator visitors participate in an eight-minute-long virtual mission projected onscreen in front of the participants in which they fire at virtual humans and vehicle targets using life-size, recoil action air rifles from inside life-size helicopters or vehicle simulators, as members of a team on a mission.
Real simulators sometimes referred to as a Hogan's Alley involve the construction of a building or even, in the case of the FBI Academy, of a small town, in which various scenarios related to law enforcement missions can be simulated. Within the physical confines of the specially constructed buildings simulated threat situations are enacted. A Hogan's Alley training facility may use live ammunition with various pop-out targets. Alternatively, Hogan's Alley training may employ simulated weapons and actors to train personnel in quick and efficacious responses in high stress confrontational and violent scenarios.
A number of video games for entertainment or for training purposes have been developed based around the concept of a Hogan's Alley training facility where the entire exercise is conducted through interaction with a video screen, although in some cases the weapons used may be real models of weapons which are held by the user.
Each type of training simulator, whether a videogame or a physical Hogan's Alley training facility, has various limitations. The video games may be readily programmed to provide a broad selection of scenarios and difficulty level, but lack the level of stress and physical training achieved by a Hogan's Alley training facility. On the other hand, a physical Hogan's Alley facility, while providing a realistic and physically engaging simulation, lacks the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of the videogame environment. Virtual reality and augmented reality systems all attempt to combine some features of both systems but continue to lack the smooth integration of the physical Hogan's Alley environment with the flexibility of computer-generated images, sound, and scenario which are responsive to the trainees' actions.